The Washington critic., 1887-08-20

as usual, hunting for stray bits OF dust
on her spoiless belongings saw her
father at work on his bit of ground;
saw her sick sister, with her two chill
dren, and last, and sweetest of ALL she
saw Dermot.
lie came walking up the lane with
his elastic, strong steps, and she felt
her heart beat with delight as he came
and took her hand In his and bent his
handsome dark eyes down to look into
hers. And then they walked along the
path that led to the old meadow and
orchard, and there they sat down and
talked over their future.
"Ah, Nora, my darling, / fear we
will have to find n four.leaf clover be
fore we can be happy. 1t needs money
to bring happiness In strait like ours,
and where could we look for 1t II the
good people did not bring I'll"
They don't believe In the little
people In America, Dcrmot, and had
almost forgotten them. wish they
might help us. I'm sure I've prayed to
the Holy Virgin often enough for aI
way out of our trouble, and have never
found 1t. Perhaps the little folks will.
Anyhow, l see no chance for us unless
people at least show me where to find
a four.leaf clover"
None but the pure In heart and the
unselfish in purpose ever find It, but III
those qualifications would bring 1t,
then you might be sure of 1t, Nora, for
there never was another like you"
just at this moment Whiteface.
Nora's favorite COW, came slowly up
the meadow path, and seeing Nora
lying there she gave gentle low. IT
woke Nora, and she could not for al
moment remember where she was, and
she lay still and looked around for
Dermot, and slowly she began to realizel
that she had been dreaming, and she
rose upon her elbow, and, strange to
say, she grasped in her right hand a
tiny tuft of grass, and in the midst of
1t In plain sight was clover stem with
four distinct leaves upon It, Wide
awake now, yet remembering her
vivid dream, Nora examined her
priceless treasure. There was no
mistake, but how had 1t got into her
hand 2 Reasoners might assert that In
her sleep she had clutched the tuft of
grass In which this clover grew, and
that the whole idea was nothing but
superstition, but Nora did not reason.
She simply believed, and she was sure,
that in some way as yet unknown all
would be made clear and straight. She
knew 1t was the fairies who had placed
that talisman In her hands. The rest
would come.
She went back home and MIXED the
cows and did her duties as deftly as
ever, but now she felt herself q privi
legged mortal, holding a direct and tan.
| gible gift from the fairies, and her
whole thoughts were thanks to God
and the Virgin for the fairies gift.
Two or three days passed and moth
ing had Gomez still Nora was patient
| and her faith great until one evening
Mr.. Sa,terlee came home and said to
his wife:
Minnie, what is Nora's other
name?"
"Eleonora Creely. Why ?"
| You remember that cranky old
woman who had the Marsh Cottage
one summer when we were In the
| White Mountains, don't you p
The one who had the smallpox and
| whom Nora went and nursed all
| alone?"
"Yes, the very one. Well, She 5
dead, and in her will she has left Nora
$4,000 in token of the 'unselfsh de.
votion with which Nora took care of a
supposed pauper, from whom every
one else fed So 1t was written In the
will which was shown me to-day
After supper we will have her in and
tell her of her good fortune"
| So when all was quiet and all the
children fast asleep, Nora was called
in and told of her good fortune. She
did not seem TO be as much astonished
as Mr.. and Mrs. Satterlee thought the
case warranted, still they thought
II was surprise that kept her so silent.
Said her mistress:
Mora, / hope when you receive
your money you will not grow to be
misery or avaricious, as that poor,
lonely old woman did. 1t is very uu.
lovely habit, and one likely TO make
you very unhappy If you allow 1t to
overcome you. | have often noticed in
you tendency to that fault, but then
l thought you were trying to lay up
something toward home Of your own
some day, or at least something for
your future; but now that with care
your future is provided for, feel it
my duty to tell you that money was
made for reasonable use, not for
misery hoardings, and you must be
careful or the habit will grow upon
you until you will be desplsed and
narrow minded miser."
~, ma'am, !" cried Nora, aghast
then suddenly she put her hand in her
pocket and in silence handed her mis-
tress her fathers letter. A few mo.
ments sufllced to show that Nora had
for all these faithful, self. sacrificing
seven long years been depriying herself
of all the things young girls love to
have, and had been sending almost the
whole of her hard earned wages to Ire.
land to those who would have starved
but for 1t.
Mrs. Satterlee broke down and threw
herself first into her good husband s
arms and then into faithful Nora's, and
mistress and servant cried together.
Nora's duty now called her to Ire
land, and Mrs. Satterlee felt that she
was losing what she could never re.
place. Still she worked with oil her
heart to help Nora to get ready to go
home as soon us possible and when she
left there were more than the baby
who cried for dear old Nora.
Thanks to hor associations In Mrs.
Satterlee's home, Nora was as ladylike
and as refined in her manner as any
physician could desire lis wife to be,
and Dermot was a proud and happy
man when his precious, faithful Nora
was in his arms.
The poor old parents and the whole
Of her 0cquaintances were sharers in the
little heritage that had fallen to Nora,
but II seems as If the four.leaf clover
has not yet lost It's virtues, for the
whole tribe, even to the seventh cous.
ins, have prospcred since Nora wen,
hack 10 ireland. DermOt believes with